More Australians buying homes: official data
Xinhua, February 11, 2015 Adjust font size:
More Australians are borrowing from banks to buy property, official data released on Wednesday revealed.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the number of home loans granted in December rose by 2.7 percent to 53,920, above the 2 percent that was estimated by economists.
Total housing finance by value rose by 4.7 percent in December, seasonally adjusted, to 30.60 billion Australian dollars (23.8 billion U.S. dollars).
The value of investor lending increased 6 percent in the month to 12.56 billion Australian dollars (9.78 billion U.S. dollars).
The Reserve Bank of Australia held its base interest rate at a historic low of 2.5 percent for 18 months before cutting it to 2. 25 percent earlier this month, which experts believe will continue to stimulate the property boom in Australia. Endi